At least 40 migrants have died after a boat they were traveling on caught fire off the northern coast of Haiti, the UN agency reports, UNN writes with reference to the BBC.
Details
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that the Haitian Coast Guard has rescued another 41 people.
According to IOM, the vessel was sailing from Cap-Haitien to the Turks and Caicos Islands, which are more than 220 kilometers away.
The exact cause of the fire is not yet clear, but a local official told Reuters that people on the boat were lighting candles in a ritual asking for safe passage, causing the barrels of gasoline to catch fire.
The victims are being assisted by IOM, and 11 of them have been taken to the nearest hospital, the agency reports.
Addendum
Tens of thousands of people leave Haiti every year to escape poverty, lawlessness and gang violence at home.
Rival armed groups took control of the capital, Port-au-Prince, earlier this year, forcing Prime Minister Ariel Henri to resign a few weeks later.
According to the UN, group violence killed or injured an average of more than one person per hour in the first three months of this year.
According to IOM, more than 86,000 migrants have been forcibly returned to Haiti by neighboring countries this year, despite the increase in violence.
This Caribbean country has seen an escalation of violence since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise three years ago.
Hundreds of Kenyan police officers arrived in Haiti this month as part of a mission to help the Haitian police fight gangs.